Armenian President Resigns: Another Setback for Armenia

I woke up Sunday morning to the shocking, yet not unexpected, news
that the President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, announced his
resignation while abroad, most probably London, after nearly four
years in office.

The President is someone I have known for 30 years. He is a
highly-educated man with multiple accomplishments: physicist, computer
scientist, successful businessman, diplomat and politician (former
Prime Minister and President of Armenia).

Sarkissian, a native of Armenia, graduated from Yerevan State
University with advanced degrees in Theoretical Physics and
Mathematics. He then became Associate Professor of physics at his alma
mater. In 1982, he moved to the UK and became a professor at the
University of Cambridge. He subsequently served as the Head of the
Department of Computer Modeling of Complex Physical Phenomenon at that
university.

In 1991, shortly after Armenia’s independence, Sarkissian became the
country’s first Ambassador to London. He served as Armenia’s Prime
Minister from November 1996 to March 1997. After recovering from a
bout with cancer, he was appointed as Special Advisor to the President
of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and as
a Governor of EBRD from 1998 to 2000. He served on the Dean’s Board
and Advisory Board of Harvard and Chicago universities and several
prestigious international organizations.

In 2018, Pres. Serzh Sargsyan recommended Armen Sarkissian to the
Parliament to be his successor, shortly before current Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan came to power who had been critical of his nomination.

Sarkissian became the President of Armenia under the amended
constitution which gave him a ceremonial role with no political
decision-making power. He had the choice of either approving
appointments proposed by Pashinyan and laws passed by the Parliament
or submitting them to the Constitutional Court for its determination.

As President, Sarkissian was entrusted with ensuring compliance with
the provisions of the Constitution. He had to navigate delicately
through Armenia’s highly charged political atmosphere and severely
divided society. Despite the limitations of his office, he used his
extensive international political and business contacts to promote
relations with Armenia and encourage investments from overseas. He
visited over a dozen countries, holding high-level meetings during his
tenure.

Meanwhile, Sarkissian was subjected to relentless criticism by
Pashinyan’s partisans who never missed an opportunity to undermine his
reputation and actions. He was also attacked by opposition groups.
Much less understandable was the constant drumbeat by
conspiracy-minded Armenians who accused him of being a British spy,
without any basis of fact. These individuals must have forgotten that
Great Britain is no longer a great power. It lost its vast Empire
where the sun never set. Nowadays, Great Britain is a country with its
multiple political and economic problems, and not in a position to
meddle in Armenia’s internal affairs.

During a private meeting I had with Pres. Sarkissian in his office in
2019, he confided to me the constant criticisms and continued attempts
to undermine his activities by his detractors.

We all recall that Pres. Sarkissian found out from the following day’s
newspapers about Pashinyan signing the statement of capitulation at
the end of the Artsakh War on Nov. 9, 2019. Pashinyan did not have the
minimum courtesy of letting the President of Armenia know about his
grave decision neither before nor after signing that statement.

Pres. Sarkissian tried to overcome the obstacles created by three
separate groups: Pashinyan’s partisans in power, the opposition, and
the conspiracy-minded crowd. He was severely criticized for objecting
to certain orders submitted for his signature by Pashinyan or laws
passed by the Parliament’s ruling majority. The biggest outcry was
raised in the fall of 2020, shortly after the devastating Artsakh War,
when he publicly urged Pashinyan to resign.

In his resignation statement, Pres. Sarkissian complained that he and
“sometimes his family are targeted by various political groups. They
are not so much interested in the achievements of the presidential
institution for the benefit of the country as in my past, various
conspiracy theories, and myths. This ‘concern’ for me goes beyond
morality, ultimately directly affecting my health.”

Furthermore, in his resignation statement, Pres. Sarkissian pointed
out the “paradoxical situation when the President has to be a
guarantor of statehood without actually having any real tools. The
Constitution also presupposes the supremacy of one institution over
another, creates obstacles for well-known Diaspora specialists to
participate in the management of state institutions of the historical
Homeland, etc…. We are a parliamentary republic in form, but not in
content. The purpose of my proposal was not to move from one form of
government to another (parliamentary to semi-presidential or
presidential), but to create a state system based on checks and
balances.”

Explaining his inability to deal with “the current national crisis” in
Armenia due to his limited powers, Pres. Sarkissian concluded his
statement with a warning that Armenia will find itself “in the margins
of history. We have no right to make mistakes anymore!”

According to the Constitution, Alen Simonyan, the Speaker of the
Parliament, is now the Acting President until elections are held for a
new President, no earlier than 25 days and no later than 35 days from
Sarkissian’s resignation.

The Constitution also outlines the process of electing a new President
by the Parliament: At least 25percent of the Parliament Members has
the right to nominate a presidential candidate. Whoever receives at
least 75percent of the votes of the Members of Parliament is elected
President. If no candidate receives 75percent of the votes, a second
round of elections is held, during which all the candidates who
participated in the first round can run. In the second round, the
candidate who receives at least 60percent of the total number of the
Parliament’s votes is elected President. If not, a third round is
held, in which the two candidates with the most votes in the second
round can run. The candidate who receives the simple majority of the
votes of the Parliament is elected President.

The presidential candidate must: Be at least 40 years old, solely an
Armenian citizen for the last six years, permanently resided in
Armenia for the last six years, has the right to vote, and speaks
Armenian. The term of the President is seven years. He or she cannot
be reelected.

The new President will be chosen by the Prime Minister’s party members
in Parliament as they hold the majority of the seats. My fear is that
an unqualified person will be chosen to be the next President just
like the other appointments made by Pashinyan, thus confirming once
again his preference for partisan politics over national interests.
Rather than establishing much needed governmental checks and balances,
the choice of a pro-Pashinyan President will further consolidate the
absolute power enjoyed by one man, the Prime Minister. He confirmed
our worst fears when during his press conference on January 24, 2022,
he said: “the President, government, and majority in Parliament must
have a political harmony.” In other words, rather than checks and
balances, Pashinyan prefers single-handed rule.